Carnival Carnage
by Twistedamber
Summary: Sequel to Circus Initiation. Joker and Alex both have inner demons to battle as new friends and enemies arrive to Gotham answering long awaited questions. *if you dont like it dont read it hoe *
1. Chapter 1

Hello! This is the sequel to Circus Initiation! I own my OCs and most of the plot the rest belongs to DC comics and I hope you enjoy :)

(Joker)  
A small squeak behind him had him turning on the dark empty side street, Joker whirled around to see Diana had slipped on the ice and was shivering in her thin jacket. How long had she been following him..her lips were even tinted blue, her nose red from the freezing temperatures. He gave an inward groan, he just couldnt believe it. He had gone soft..if he didnt even notice a child following him for who knew how long.  
"How long have you been following me?" He asked, truly curious. She didnt seem too put off by his trademark appearance.  
She managed to stand on her own, brushing snow off of her now wet jeans.  
"Long..enough." Her teeth chattered.  
"Go home..listen to your mother and stay away from the bad guys."  
"But you helped me."  
"The first one was free." He chuckled and sighed. He pulled out his pocket watch to check the time and looked at the photo yet again. It was three a.m on a january winter morning and she shouldn't be out here..  
"Is that your girlfriend? She's really pretty."  
He didnt show his surprise..how did she get next to him so fast? Was he losing his touch? He gave his head a shake and waited for the voice to say something...but it didnt. There was just him.  
"Uhh, yeah. That's Alex." He growled and put it away.  
"Come on. You're already out past curfew..better live a little before you go home."

He opened the door to his favorite cafe and saw the girl who always stared at him..especially when Alex was working. Joker was immediately aware of the stares but he didnt care..it not like the workers called the police on him, either they were too afraid to or they liked that he came in, paid well and tipped well. He hadn't made too much a scene yet.  
They sat in the back corner booth with Jokers back to the large front window. From here he could see the register and restrooms, the bell jingling again caught his attention and a man dressed nicely shuffled up to the counter.  
"So how did you manage to escape so late?" He giggled like himself again.  
"I'm actually really good at sneaking out." She grinned and for a moment Joker thought he saw something glinting in her eye..some sense of maturity..a sense of hidden strength..  
Suddenly, he caught the last of what the man was saying and she looked like just a child again.  
"..anyone know an Alexandria?"  
"Does he mean Alex?" Diana asked as the waitress finally came over looking utterly confused at seeing the clown with her this time. Besides that the other workers were hesitant to deal with him in general.  
"Yes." He answered Diana without looking away. The man had turned to leave and stopped dead in his tracks when he spotted Joker in the corner. Joker tossed a fifty onto the table.  
"Get whatever the kid wants..I'll be back." He stood and lightly brushed past the waitress who looked ill. The man tried to scurry out of the door and Joker let him before catching up outside the window, he slammed the man against the brick roughly.  
"Why are you asking about Alex?" He got to the point.  
"Maybe I could ask you a few questions instead?" Joker let him take a folded up paper out of his front pocket and unfolded it to reveal..a printed copy of the picture in his watch. He snatched it out of the now trembling man's hands.  
"How did you get this?" He growled.  
"I work for a small paper competing with other big name Gotham newspapers. Ours is more of a tabloid magazine. Someone anonymously sent this in and it got everyone to wondering why a..fine man such as yourself has interest in Mr. Wayne's daughter, or that little girl inside?"  
Jack let go of his jacket and the man didn't bother running off.  
Instead he...held out a hand. Jack looked at it a moment genuinely shocked at the sudden politeness. He amused himself by shaking the mans hand.  
"Elijah..pleased to meet you." Did Alex send this in? Why would she want to put them in a magazine? To tell Gotham he was changing like he feared? He knew the papers talked..he'd made the cover more than once.  
"You're not going to say _anythinnguhh_ about the girl inside." He growled. "And about Alex?" He leaned closer to the man and personally enjoyed watching him shrink back into the wall, almost flinching. His knife was out now and he pointed it at him.  
"You tell everyone that reads your little 'magazine' that if anyone tries to hurt her, talk to her or so much as look at her the wrong way..I'll slit their throats in their sleep." Joker quickly ripped the picture into pieces and tossed it into an empty trash can along the sidewalk.  
"Leave." He barked at Elijah and he did..scurrying down the icy sidewalk frequently slipping and sliding. Joker huffed and walked back inside the warm establishment. He sat back in front of Diana who looked extremely annoyed. She had a half empty drink in front her and all the change on the table already.  
"No dessert?" He teased.  
"No, I did order a pie. The lady brought it out and then..," Her face went a little red. "She asked me if you kidnapped me or forced me to be here. She asked me if you touched me."  
_Ouch_, that one actually offended him. He had helped beat the shit out of people like that.  
"And what did you say?" He asked, licking a scar slowly.  
"I told her to shove the pie up her ass and give me your change." Diana said matter of factly and Jack couldn't help it, he laughed loudly which brought more uncomfortable glances from the workers.  
He scooped up the change.  
"Alright kid, let's go. Time to sneak back in."  
He had given her his jacket of the evening since Alex still had his original one.  
"So tell me..why were you really following me?" He asked her.  
"I don't know. I guess I just wanted to tell you how grateful I was."  
"You're welcome." He growled slightly. "Now stop coming out when it's so fucking cold out here."  
"Finneee." She rolled her eyes when she thought he wouldn't see and he was relieved when her house came into view. Jack took his coat back and welcomed the extra layer against the biting cold. It had started to lightly snow again.  
"Bye." She said quietly and Joker nodded, watching her until she was safely inside before walking down frozen streets towards Alex's place or Batman's he should say. They were all at a standstill. Batman wanting to choke the life out of the clown and Joker himself knowing his identity, he could easily slip it onto live TV whenever he pleased..and his reward? He could smell Alex as clear as if she were with him now..his reward was satisfying enough. If Jack were being honest..it was a nice balance.

(Alex)  
"My powers..my abilities..they're gone." Seth said from the drivers seat. We sneak out in the middle of a freezing morning to practice throwing rocks and trees at each other just for him to tell me now he was back to normal?! Did that mean mine would fade and disappear as well?  
"Then why are we driving all the way out here?"  
"It doesn't mean you can't practice."  
"What's the point if they're just going to disappear too?" I shook my head..just when I decided to practice holding that energy in too.  
"Fine..I guess they can still be useful for now."  
I glanced at Seth..he had gone through several doses of that strange toxic liquid and it showed. He kept insisting he was fine but I could see the slight tremor in his fingers as he gripped the steering wheel and the slight layer of sweat on his forehead..would I go through withdrawal like symptoms too? Or was it only because he had more than one dose?  
"Riley is meeting us there." He said. She had been showing up to our last two practice sessions. I was the one who accidentally let that cat out of the bag..at her house when I accidentally flung her cat down the hallway with one of my telekinetic spaz outs..  
We pulled up to the clearing and I scowled when I saw Riley wasn't alone. I didn't like Crane suddenly sniffing around her, there had to be some other real reason. Maybe Joker had ordered him to watch us all..how better yet to do that than to get close..too close.  
We stepped out and I tried my best to hide my irritation as we crunched through the fresh snow towards them.  
"This is honestly one of the best parts of my day." She grinned when she saw me and it was so pure that I decided to leave my attitude at the car.  
"Well, it's only going to be half as good now."  
"What do you mean?" She asked, looking between Seth and I. I gestured for him to explain.  
"I believe since I haven't had any more doses..the powers that came with it are also out of my system."  
"Which means my days are numbered also." I sighed.

(Maroni)

He pressed his fingers against his temple to try to relieve the headache beginning to pound there. It was two in the morning and his dreams still troubled him. His memories..

_ The door to his office busts open and for a moment Sal thinks his building had been broken into, after all it was two in the morning. He flicked on his desk lamp and the room lit up enough for him to see who it was. Rachel Dawes..the very young woman trying desperately to show the DA office she was worthy of their ranks..or so he hears.  
_ _Sal kept his cool and gestured to the seat in front of him.  
__ "Usually we make appointments around here." He chuckled, not giving her a chance to speak first. "I hear you want in the big boys office..like chasing higher ranking criminals? Makes me wonder why you're in my office, Miss Dawes? Trying to make a name for yourself?"  
_ _The defiant face she wore when she arrived fell.  
__ "I was told you do other favors..papers..birth certificates. Maybe several for different occasions?" She looked a little fragile and Maroni had to wonder if this was her intention.  
"That wouldn't look good for your line of work." He smiled.  
"I'm not in the office yet..,"  
"Do you want to be?" He asked and she realized what exactly he was asking. He would get her papers done and get her a job in office but she would need to feed him information from the inside and help him out of sticky situations every now and then it seemed fair to him.  
"You can do that?" She breathed.  
"Of course."  
"Ill think on it..but I do need those papers. I need to find two sets of foster parents and several birth certificates for different situations."  
"Who's the lucky lady?" He wrote down what he might need on a pad of paper in front of him.  
"Me. I'm pregnant."  
"Two sets of foster parents, huh?"_

He opened his eyes again half expecting to see her almost twenty years younger sitting across from him but the chair was empty. They had all been too young for their trade.. Maroni kicked his feet up and looked at the mini television on his desk. The dark haired young man on the news saved another victim..the fourth this week. Maroni had been pegging his location down but he moved constantly..town to town..and Maroni couldn't help but notice he was coming closer to Gotham.

(Joker)  
He discovered Alex's room empty and he searched the rest of the rich place, almost knocking over an expensive looking vase in the shadows. There was snoring coming from the downstairs den and he walked in, finding Bruce Wayne sleeping on the long leather couch. He finally knew the Batman..he could finally _end_ the Batman.. He was trembling suddenly and his skin turned hot until he opened his knife. Slinking silently around the sofa to the front, he looked down at him. He could see where some of Alexs' features came from..the dark hair..sharp face. Joker inched closer slowly bringing the blade up to the sleeping mans throat. He could end it all right now..no machine to bring him back.  
The knife started to tremble along with him and he pulled back suddenly. If he killed Bruce now he would lose all progress with Alex and it was always about the long game..wasn't it? He put his knife back in his pocket and walked on jittery knees out into the cold. Joker wanted to have someone else's life in his hands, he was practically shaking for it.

(Gordon)  
He rubbed his gloved hands together and finally shut off the Bat signal. It was late and freezing all the way up here on the roof. Maybe he was busy tonight..  
He took the stairs slowly and then the elevator the rest of the way down. It dinged and opened to complete chaos. Everyone was screaming and pushing one another, paper scattered and flying everywhere. One woman was throwing a stapler at another and then  
BANG! BANG! Someone was shooting in another room close by. There was still remnants of faint smoke lingering around and Gordon immediately placed a sleeve over his mouth looking around..he turned back to the elevator and saw..a devil with a sack for a head and ruby glowing eyes.  
"Crane..,"  
The devil leaned closer.  
"It's Scarecrow."

(Alex)  
I climbed back up my balcony after the shit show of power practice. My whole body was numb from being outside and I wanted to soak in the hot bathtub. I dropped my clothes piece by piece as I neared the bathroom..I was completely naked when I reached the bathroom door and a slight movement caught my eye. My heart leapt and I whirled looking at the painted face staring back at me. He was looking me up and down and my stomach lurched in a bad way. He was covered in blood.  
"Are you hurt?" I asked, feeling more sorry for the other person.  
"Never." He whispered, a little out of it and followed me into the bathroom.

That night I tossed and turned even though Jack was sleeping soundly next to me.  
_Whatever he's dreaming about..it must be nice, _I thought as I eyed him behind his pants. I suddenly realized he had gone down on me but I never had for him. He never brought it up or forced me to my knees to put his dick in my mouth. Most guys couldn't wait to do that.. but not him. He never even asked. I moved quietly between his legs truly curious about how it felt to suck on..you know..I never had before and now seemed like the perfect time to me.  
Getting his pants unzipped and his hard length out took no time at all..he was sleeping rather hard tonight. Pun intended. I gripped him firmly in my hand memorizing the smoothness and warmth of his flesh there. My heart started to beat harder..what if I sucked? Pun also intended. I guess I just had to try and see.  
My tongue flicked out gently and grazed the head of his hard cock..once, twice, three times. He moaned finally in his sleep and I got braver..sticking the whole tip in my mouth and sucked. I started to gently stroke my hand up and down at the same time and he finally started to stir..  
"Mmm,Alex." He moaned and I went farther tasting and sucking gently. His fingers wound in my hair and held my long locks above my head gently so they weren't in my face. He didn't push me either...he let me explore at my own pace and it made me brave enough to go even farther down. I had a limit though..I could feel my stomach not agree with a certain spot and I backed up a little, instead focusing on what I was doing before.  
He was enjoying it though, the sexy, deep, moans radiating in his chest had me wet between my legs too.  
"Alex..I'm..," He tensed up suddenly and a hot, salty liquid filled my mouth. I leaned up and spit it out onto the sheet.  
The heat started building in my chest but instead of panicking I used it as a focus point. To my intense happiness nothing flew around the room or shattered. I could feel the energy pulsing through my veins..  
He sat up on his elbows to look at me in the dark but I suddenly wanted him to be the victim. He fell flat onto the bed and tried to move his arms and legs..but he couldn't.  
I watched him struggle to get free but it was no use. He wasn't going anywhere.  
"Alex..you _can't_ just use your powers on me." He hissed slightly and I realized..he was afraid..afraid of me having the upper hand, the _control_. I looked at him deliciously pinned with his hard cock still out. I just wanted him inside me. I removed my clothes and crawled over him.  
"I can do whatever I want." I hissed back and sank my drenched heat down onto him.


	2. Chapter 2

Alex)

He was angry but he was still grunting and panting every time I bucked forward, I was loving every minute of it.

Even through his waves of seething he couldn't help but watch me..watch my breasts bouncing, watch me flip my hair back, watch me rubbing my clit. I watched him lost in the moment and I was pleased when his pants got harder, his groans got deeper. He was on the edge and Jokers eyes met mine..but I slowed down. My thighs were starting to burn anyway and I leaned forward instead to bite and nip at his ear and neck.

"Let me go." He said. "So I can fuck you even after you beg me to stop." His voice was lulling me into a false sense of security..but damn if it wasn't the hottest thing I'd ever heard.

My stomach gave another lurch..was that something I'd like or was that a threat? Either way it didn't stop my pussy from clenching at the thought. I laid over him catching my breath for a moment and trying to make a decision..to let him go or to not let him go?

"You're beautifulll." He growled suddenly and the compliment eased my nerves so I released my hold on him.

"I'm so glad I met you."I whispered more as a thought to myself than saying it to him but he had leaned forward and kissed me firmly. I savored the feel of his lips and his scent..and then his hand was squeezing my throat, slightly at first so he could hold me in place while he switched positions. He was behind me now and I was lightheaded feeling his warm hand creep up my back and spine to my neck. His hand wound and twisted in my hair..he twisted harder and pulled my head back so there were little stings in my scalp. The same time I cried out from the pain in my roots he shoved himself inside of me completely.

I was lost in the pleasure of it all and I let him lean over me, to have the control once again, and he fucked me like he had promised. I came around his hot cock.

"Jack..,"

"Shhh." He cooed and the hand that was in my hair moved to my throat squeezing once again. He didn't stop and the waves of pleasure mixing with my foggy mind was pure bliss. I didn't stop him..I didn't know if I could.

Nothing else mattered but every mind numblingly pleasure filled thrust.. I was so close..so close..and then.. His hand left my throat and turned my head so I could look at him..he still didn't talk..his eyes seemed possessed. Joker pushed my head into the pillows and suddenly his weight was on me trapping me between him and the sheets. His knees forced my legs farther apart and then he was fucking me..with everything he had.

I was trapped under him..I couldn't move. He grabbed my wrists in my one of his hands and held them down..I didn't even mind..the spasming pleasure deep inside me was unlike anything I'd ever felt. By his growls and hard thrusts he didn't seem even close to finished and I let him take me, claim me like he never had before..

(Joker)

She couldnt make up her mind. Whether or not she wanted to lay there and take his relentless thrusts or keep trying to stop him. He had been counting her orgasms..the heavenly tightening of her pussy around him had him trying his best to hold back..to not cum just yet. Her on the other hand..both of their thighs were slick with her pleasure.

During one orgasm she was pushing back begging for it harder..faster and the next she was trying to get him to stop.. saying that the pleasure was too much but he wasnt stopping. Her cum spilled yet again down his thighs and he finally let himself go..gripping her hips and releasing himself deep into her..

He layed next to her neither one of them wanting to move just yet.

"If you really wanted me to stop..why didn't you use your abilities on me?" He asked her, truly curious. It was a feeling he didn't quite like.

"Because deep down I didnt want you to..even when I felt like I couldnt handle it.." She paused but then looked serious for a moment. "And because when you trapped my hands I suddenly couldnt do anything."

"What do you mean?" Her beautiful eyes landed on him.

"I tried to get you off at some point..it didn't work."

"I don't regret it..," He growled.

"Neither do I." She sighed and her eyes slid closed. "Let's just get some sleep..I have to be up for school later and I'm so tired." Alex stretched out next to him and Joker tossed her blanket over both of their naked bodies. Sleep sounded nice.

(Alex)

Jack jerked in his sleep and it woke me. I looked at the clock and was happy to see I still had a few hours before I had to get up. I looked at the sleeping clown next to me and he was still slightly twitching. He didn't have a hard on this time so I assumed his dream wasn't very pleasant. Should I wake him?

The sudden small creeping of energy slid through my chest and I quickly held my breath and focused it into my palm. No explosions today. I placed my palm against his forehead, focusing on soothing and calming feelings..

It happened so fast.

One second I was with Jack and the next I was falling and dropped into the mud. How did I get outside in the rain? Why was it daytime?

I heard shouts and boot thuds in the distance and looked up..some kind of military camp? There were men in the same uniforms running track or doing courses. Higher ups were yelling orders over the thunder and..

I look up just in time to be smashed by a tank like vehicle! I was in the middle of the muddy road! I screamed and threw my arms up as if that would do anything against a tank but.. I opened my eyes and saw the truck still driving past me. It went right through me!

No one had reacted to my shrieks.. because I wasn't really here! I looked back to the men lined up practicing counts and my eyes searched for those curls and scars but I found none. I needed to get out of the rain, this might not have been real but it sure was soaking me like it was real. I ran in the direction of the nearest building and slipped inside.

How was I going to get back out? When one of us woke up? Or when I figured how to pull myself out?

A sudden loud SMACK had me whipping my head around and staring down the long hallway. Then it dawned on me..there were a lot of sounds echoing around me like that. Loud grunts and cries of pain..voices pleading for it stop.. for the pain to end.

My entire body was doused in goosebumps and I was suddenly glad I wasn't really there.

The door closest to my right opened and a man in a typical army uniform walked out with bloody knuckles. A loud familiar laugh echoed from the open room to me and my feet automatically started moving.

I managed to slip through before it closed and gasped at the sight. It was Jack..he was tied to a chair and his face was bloody. There were scarlet spatters on the plastic covering the floor and another man standing in the corner.

"Where is he?" The man with the bald head and glasses asked gently. "Where is number 6921?"

Jack just smiled pink and looked at the floor..then he looked up and saw me. I mean he looked through me I guessed..no one else had paid me any mind.

"Answer me, 8390!" When Jack didn't respond, the man with the bloody knuckles came back..

Suddenly my vision cleared and I was back in my bedroom and looking down at the Joker who was also awake and looking at me.

"I saw you standing there." He said as though deep in thought.

"One hell of a dream." I muttered and took my hand away from his head.

"It wasn't a dream." He growled back and I could suddenly sense his irritation.. so, that had been a memory and not a dream. I watched him dress.

"Going somewhere?" I asked him.

He fixed the collar on his coat and leaned down to kiss my forehead.

"I'll see you when you get home. I love you." I didn't say it back and he didn't wait for me to..he slipped silently out onto my balcony. After the cold chill from the open door I decided to get dressed also.

There was still so much about him..to him..that I knew nothing about. Who was interrogating him and who was the person they were asking him about?

I wasn't getting any sleep after that so I went downstairs into the quiet kitchen to make myself some hot chocolate and toast. I really didn't feel like getting ready for school..I was just ready to graduate and be done with it. Just a few more months... I wonder why my dad didn't haul me off to some rich boarding school the minute I got here. He had let me go to public school..maybe he didn't think I'd do too good there. I honestly didn't know how I felt about living at my school with a bunch of girls. Maybe I would have settled down with a nice girl..with blue or pink hair and a nose stud.

Yeah. I'm sure my dad would have liked that a lot better than Gotham's clown and the fact that they had long been rivals before I had come in the picture just baffled me. There had to be more to that story..

I put my dishes away and went back upstairs. I might as well go ahead and shower before I changed my sheets and got ready for the day. I closed my door behind me and looked up, hoping he would be standing there but he wasn't. I sighed and changed my sheets..walking down to the laundry room to start them.

When I came back he still wasn't there and it bothered me that him not being here bothered me.

(Joker)

He had never planned on her learning about that part of his life. As for where number 6921 was..he still didn't know. As for Alex..her growing power was starting to make him uneasy. Goddamn it, was he really being followed again?!

He whirled with his knife out ready to hit an artery and color the snow but it was..Diana.

"I, uh, thought I dropped you off at home." He growled in frustration.

"I want to be as free as you!" She whined.

"What does that mean? Go home! Before I carve your face next!" He took a threatening step forward with his knife but she didn't move.

"It's not like you could stop me." Her voice carried through the wind. Had he heard her right?

"Oh?" He laughed. "Really?" Joker went to rush her...he wasn't going to do anything but push her on her ass in the snow..served her right for being nosey..but she wasn't there. He looked to his left and she was standing over there now.

Suddenly she was a blur as she moved..her little tinkling laugh echoed around him and now he really wanted to knock her on her ass. She beat him to it gracefully flipping onto her front hands and spinning a kick at him. She was springy. He backed up in time to watch her flip back slightly faster than his eye could follow. So he wasn't getting old.

"What are you an acrobat?" He huffed. His stress amused her as her face broke out into a grin.

"Among other things." She laughed. "You can help me be free." Before he could ask if she was also crazy..she did some hand springs and cartwheels until she was out of sight her tinkling laugh fading away.

"What a fucking night..," He muttered. Joker replayed her graceful kick in his mind and wondered if she was able to take care of herself the entire time. He would be looking for her again or he might not even have to, she had a habit of finding him. Where was Crane? Jack decided it was a good morning for the both of them to drink their breakfast.


	3. Chapter 3

# Carnival carnage. Chapter 3. #  
(Riley)

"This is just insane!" She gasped behind Scarecrow in the elevator. Thank God Mr. Gordon hadn't seen her behind him before he had passed out on the scuffed up flooring of the police station. They both watched from the elevator as one by one everyone acting psycho dropped unconscious.

"Better than dead, right?" Crane shrugged behind his 'disguise'.

"I guess." She sighed. "Are you sure what you're looking for is here?"

"Maybe..if not, I can think of one other place." He pushed the button and up they went.

"Remind me again why I'm letting you drag me into this?" Her eyes looked him up and down. She was still getting used to him playing dress up with a potato sack.

"Because it will benefit your friend Alex." They stopped finally and the doors dinged open.

"And you care about what benefits Alex..why?" She was truly confused.

"What else do I have to do right now? Besides..what benefits her benefits the Joker..benefits me." He said in a way that made her believe him.

"Okay." They were in Gordon's office. Normal too clean looking office. What could be in here? Crane started going through every drawer looking through papers and files because what he was looking for apparently wasn't found in his secret stash under her bed. Riley refused to participate she just stood there and watched him ransack the place from neat to disaster. He growled in frustration at not finding it..

"The next place.."

"Tomorrow..please its late." She yawned. "I have school in the morning."

He nodded his head and they both left before his gas wore off..the police wouldn't remember anything when they woke..

Alex was visibly quiet the next afternoon at lunch. Maybe it was the increased volume of everyone speaking at once but her eyes looked darker. She looked like she had been missing a few meals again..she didn't eat much when she was stressed.

"Good afternoon." Riley waved at her and pushed her own tray of pizza and fruit in front of the dark haired girl. "What's wrong?"

She looked up from the tray to Riley and smiled. Riley watched her take a few bites of her lunch before sliding the tray back.

"Just worried about Seth..I haven't seen him all day. Have you?"

Riley shook her head.

"Maybe he's just taking a day. He hasn't looked too well recently."

"That's what I mean." Alex replied. "How long until I start feeling the same?"

"Maybe you won't."

"Maybe. Hey, my dad told me he has some high class party to attend tonight. I really don't want to go alone. Come home with me after school and we can go shop for dresses."

"Wouldn't Joker be your date?" Riley smiled as though they could do the waltz in front of all the rich people..

"He's off finding himself at the moment." She suddenly looked extremely depressed.

"Yeah, of course I'll go with you."

(Alex)

Kane sat in his usual sleek black car on the curb after school and I slid in the back to settle in.

"Before you ask," And I knew he would because he did everyday. "School was okay. Riley and I want to go home to pick up some cash and then off to shop for dresses."

"Your father wanted me to tell you that you didn't have to attend tonight's party if you didn't want to." His deep Russian tone said. "Boring adults. Champagne glasses."

"I'm going. I don't feel like staying home and moping." I said back.

Suddenly the door opened and closed next to me and I turned, expecting Riley's fiery red hair but Seth plopped next to me instead. All Kane and I could do was stare at the purple half of his face. What the fuck...

Riley slid in on the other side of me and closed the door behind her.

"So I found perfect boutique to look at dresses..,"

She looked past me to Seth..

"What the fuck!" She gasped..

"I think it might be time for me to tell you guys something." He said through a strained voice and then I noticed the purple wrapped around his throat also..

"Who did this to you?" Kane had turned around to look at him in the back.

He didn't answer and I knew he didn't want to..was it Joker?

"Did Joker do this to you?" I asked him firmly. "You can tell me."

Seth shook his head. "No. It wasn't him..really." He added at the end after my look.

"Okay, then who?"

He looked away for a second and then looked into my eyes..

"Sebastian."

Kane pulled up at the house and we all hopped out. I rushed to the kitchen to make Seth an ice pack for his face and set him up a place on the couch while Riley fretted over him. I guess you could say we all had become a little closer since everything that had happened..

"When were you going to tell us your brother was alive?" Riley started in her mothering tone. She snatched the ice pack from my hands as though I weren't moving fast enough for her and put it up to his eye. I shrugged her gesture off and waited for his answer also while he gently took the pack from her.

"I don't know..when I was sure if he was normal again or not?" He sighed at the ice and pressed it more firmly onto his face.

"Normal." I said. "As in no powers."

"Yes." He said through gritted teeth.

"And does he?"

"Yes." He sighed again. My irritation with him rose steadily.

"How?" I asked through clenched teeth.

"He had been stashing doses for months." Seth sighed. "He hates me for killing our father."

"Maybe we should skip that party tonight and stay in." Riley said from where she sat on the floor.

"No. I've had worse. You guys go ahead. I'll be here when you get back..if your dad doesn't mind."

"He won't. He'll be at the party with us." I said from the corner of the room.

"I'll be here when you girls get back." Kane said as we stepped out of the car and into the parking garage.

"That's so sad. Get a coffee at least." I smiled at him and slammed the door. Riley and I walked away giggling to the store. It was a higher class place and again the ladies looked at our tshirts, jeans and sneakers in disbelief. Compared to their nice skirts and blouses I didn't blame them..it didn't seem to mind Riley either as she immediately went to the bracelets as though her arms weren't covered in silver and gold bangles already. She really did look like a modern hippie with her lavender bandana in her red curls.

"Check these out..they change colors!" She was smiling. "What color dress were you thinking of wearing?"

"Light blue with a silver bow in the back of my hair." My eyes began scanning the racks of dresses for a pale blue.

"That would look amazing with your hair." She said. "I'm not sure what color I should go for."

"Black. Gold. Green. Purple." I smiled.

We separated for a few minutes to go down the racks of exquisite garments...

The cashier rung us up and I wasn't sure if my Dad would wince at the price or shrug. We took our bags and exited the store.

"I've never been to a party like this one before." Riley said.

"They're pretty boring from what I've heard but at least we'll have each other." I replied.

"I think we should bring Seth with us..I don't like the idea of leaving him.., HEY!"

Suddenly a man ran by and snatched Riley's dress bag right out of her hand!

"What the hell?!" She yelled at his retreating form.

(Riley)

She had just gotten the damn dress too! Alex stepped forward suddenly and raised her arm..palm pointing at the thief.

"What are you..?" Riley began to ask but the man was suddenly lifted eight to nine feet in the air! Her best friend was doing that!

"Alex..," She began but didn't know what else to say..

The man was spluttering, twitching and then..the bag dropped and he went limp. His dead body crashed to the ground and all Riley could do was stare.

"You killed him.." Riley muttered and her bottom lip was trembling. Alex looked at her cooly, not a hint of compassion in her eyes.

"I didn't kill him. He had a heart attack in the air. Shock, I'm sure." She replied and walked up to the bag. Riley watched her pick it up and bring it back to her. Alex held the bag out for her to take and Riley couldn't move for a moment..what if Alex turned on her one day, too?

"Riley..relax. Let's go home and get ready. We can talk to Seth about coming with us."

They got into the car and Kane was all smiles with his cup of coffee.

"How did it go?" He asked in his friendly Russian accent and Alex met her eyes in the mirror.

"It was so much fun!" Riley plastered the fake smile on her face.

(Jonathan)

He stomped up the back stairs and came eye to chest with a mountain..with a mountain of a gun.

"You Crane?" The man's question annoyed Jonathan. There was once a time when everyone in Gotham knew his name. When he was a famous doctor at the Asylum. Those were the days...

"Yes."

The man let him up through the door and he walked down the pristine hall to the office door. It was ajar and Jonathan didn't bother to knock before entering.

"You trashed the police station last night." Maroni stated before he had even sat in a chair. Crane briefly wondered if the memory effects of his gas weren't up to par. He didn't mention anything about Riley being there with him.

"And?"

"What are you looking for?" Maroni asked.

"I'd prefer to keep that confidential." He smirked.

"Because Joker told you to?"

"Because I have common sense." The smirk was still in place.

"But Joker does have an extra agenda." Maroni stated.

"You tell me." Crane looked back smoothly. While Maroni shuffled some papers into a folder and stuffed them into a desk which he promptly locked with a key..an idea suddenly came to Crane, remembering how he had somehow snapped off the cabinet handle at the Bastionne's. The papers had to be here somewhere..the records stolen from Samuel confirmed Rachel had a little secret and the Butler was in on it also.

(Alex)

We walked in the huge spacious room behind my father and I instantly felt Riley stiffen beside me. It was a lot to take in. The crystal chandeliers, waiters, food, fancy music. I could go on. I linked my arm through hers and pressed my side firmly against her.

"Come on! Let's go sneak some champagne!" I whispered in her ear. We both glanced back at Bruce in a deep conversation already about numbers in his business before giggling and sneaking off to the tables.

I looked back and saw my father watching us but he had a smile on his face and made the 'little bit' gesture with his thumb and finger before moving on. For some reason it made my heart warm..made me feel like I was really here with my father. Riley had already tossed back a cup and an older woman with a silver beehive on her head and a fur shawl looked as though we had spit on her.

When I tossed back my shot of champagne too she walked away in a huff and I giggled.

"It's just starting, too." I had covered my scar up tonight..I didn't want to deal with more looks than usual.

"We could leave early. Go back and help Seth figure out what to do about Sebastian?" Her voice wavered a little.

I put my hand on her arm reassuringly.

"Don't worry. We will..let's just get through tonight." I smiled and I noticed her smile didn't quite touch her eyes.. was she that upset? She tossed back another shot..

"Good evening." A polite voice said from beside me and I looked over at a boy. I suddenly hoped he wasn't going to ask me to dance. He didn't even give me a chance to say 'hello' back.

"My name is Elijah. I work for a small magazine. I was wondering if you would answer a few questions?"

Riley had paused in the her third shot to watch us.

"About Gotham?" I prompted, already wanting to be anywhere else.

"About the Joker." I heard Riley choking on her drink.

"I have to go to the bathroom, Alex. Come with me!" She pulled my hand and suddenly we were in the ladies room and I was so grateful.

"Why is a magazine wanting to know about Joker?" I asked her.

She just shook her head. "Everybody wants to know about him in some way or another. Some want him dead..others want him locked up. Some just hope they don't come across him and all of Gotham knows he kidnapped the Billionaire's daughter and is still running around loose."

She made sense.

"Anyway, thanks for saving me. I owe you one." I smiled and this time the smile she returned was real.

"Ok," She said and peeked out of the door. "Coast is clear." I looked around for my Dad. I didn't think Elijah would ask me anything in front of him..but I didn't see my Dad anywhere. It was getting progressively more crowded and Riley took my hand. I let her lead me to some comfy leather chairs in the corner by a huge fireplace and we sat heavily side by side.

"I think leaving early was a great idea..but we can't go out the way we came in or my Dad will wonder." I sighed and enjoyed the warmth from the crackling flames a few more moments. My eyes suddenly caught a figure coming towards us and I was ready to run from Elijah but it was only Kane.

"All by yourself in the corner," He joked and the fire caught his hair and smile in a way that made me shiver a little..he was handsome. "I told you it would be boring." His accent was thick tonight..maybe he had a glass of champagne on the sly..

I smiled and nodded in agreement.

"You were right. All this dress money for nothing."

"You look absolutely beautiful." He muttered respectfully. I looked to Riley before I could flush in embarrassment and the girl was sleeping! Her head was laid back and her breathing deep and even.

"I guess it's time to go home." I smiled and looked back at Kane. "We should take her home first. Can you put her in the car and I'll just say goodbye to my Dad first..let him know we're leaving." Kane nodded his head and lifted Riley into his arms..there were a few looks as he carried her out to the elevators and I stood to again look for my father but couldn't see him.

'Oh well...I tried.'

I turned to go catch the next elevator down when someone else caught my eye..not Elijah. Joker. He motioned for me to follow him down a long hallway full of doors.

I followed quickly..wondering where he had been all day. We walked into a spacious bedroom fit for royalty and he closed the door behind us.

He smelled like alcohol also but his eyes were clear and focused. A smirk appeared on his painted face and he held out a hand.

(Joker)

Fuck. She was so beautiful tonight in her classy baby blue floor length dress. It looked like it was made of real material and those bracelets on her wrists..necklace around her throat and ring on her middle finger had to be real diamonds. Her inky dark tresses were waves cascading down her back and shoulders and a silver glittery bow had been placed in the back. Joker had noticed it glittering from the light of the flames first.

Her eyes regarded his outstretched hand a moment.

"Don't leave me hanging, Doll. I came here all the way for you." She took his gloved hand and then he was spinning her around in a lame mock of a dance. She smiled shyly up at him anyway and his heart began to thud in a good way.

"Are we okay now?" Alex asked in her small voice that he liked so much. It sent a shiver down his spine and he was starting to wonder if she would let him take off the dress.

"We were never not okayyy." He ended in a growl and tipped her head back to kiss her..he moved down her neck and she wound her fingers through his hair twisting and pulling him closer to her..

(Alex)

I couldn't remember the wall at my back but it was as we were still kissing. His hands pushed the shoulder pieces down and my chest was bare to him. He wasn't wasting any time and I didn't mind it. I had been waiting all day for him to show up.

He lifted one of my legs around his waist...pushing my dress up to my hips and lacy silver panties aside. His teeth grazed my neck and his fingertips found my clit.. but it didn't matter. I was already wet from just the sight of him. He slipped in easily and I suddenly felt complete and relaxed..like the first puff of your cigarette on break or first shot after work. I could already feel the familiar warmth in my lower stomach and I let him take me..

I closed my eyes and got lost in the pleasure..focusing first on his thrusts and then his fingers pinching and playing at my breasts..I was so close..

One of his hands trapped my wrists on the wall above me and he was halfway holding me up..thrusting into me causing my breasts to bounce and me to start to whimper and moan. I opened my eyes..and saw Kane silently standing in the doorway!

I wanted to tell Joker to stop but Kane wasn't doing anything to stop us and then my face flamed because Joker hadn't noticed him here yet and because he could see everything..

He wasn't leaving..Joker was grunting harder almost there.. and then I couldn't hold back. I closed my eyes again and then I came..followed by Joker.

I opened my eyes again to see Kane backing out of the doorway and leaving. He had waited for us to finish..he had wanted to watch. I should have been embarrassed but I was just buzzing with pleasure and power in my blood. Joker looked back up at me, panting and I smiled at him.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Doll." He ruffled my hair a little and I scowled playfully..fixing my top and putting my dress back down. Would kane go ahead and take Riley home or wait for me? Did I even want to face him? I was embarrassed a bit but..I thought back to that night when I had gone into his room to show him my camera.

"Want to take a walk with me?" He asked in his growling tone and I nodded, all thoughts of Kane forgotten..

We snuck out a back fire exit whose alarm had been broken..or he had broken it to get in and I didn't bother to ask. Walking quickly to the less populated areas I suddenly smelled Chinese food and my stomach growled. They had the best down here on the more dangerous side of the city..but I was safe with Joker.

I hadn't brought any money with me tonight.

"Do you have any cash on you?" I shivered. "I'm kinda hungry." He nodded and dug in a coat pocket.. pulling out a wad of fifties.

I was about to take his offered cash when a sudden shrill whistle sounded through the air. Joker growled and turned to the two men..it was only when he had his knife out suddenly that I realized they had whistled at me. It suddenly made me..angry... I lifted my arm and gritted my teeth.

(Joker)

He made to walk across the empty snow covered streets to the men and they stopped and stood as still as statues, but not because of him. He glanced over at Alex and the sight of her reflecting eyes and outstretched hand made him swallow hard. It wasn't directed at him at least.

Suddenly, the sound of two of the loudest snaps he had ever heard pierced the air and both of their necks were twisted at odd angles. The bodies dropped to the ground with two sickening thuds. Joker looked at her incredulously..her eyes were back to normal but she was still staring at them, expressionless.

What the fuck just happened?

He shook her shoulder to snap her out of her

"Why did you do that?" He asked and she looked at him funny.

"What's the big deal? You kill people all the time! Don't you want me to be more like you?" She asked sarcastically.

Joker didn't know what to say..he shook his head.

"I want you to be you..my Alex. The one I talked to at the bus stop that night." Her eyes turned angry and guarded.

"The weak, little girl you mean. What were you doing out so late that night, anyway? Coming home from a bar or a strip club to look for your next victim to stalk?" She was getting angrier by the moment and he noticed several pebbles rising around them.

"And then you saw me..helpless little girl out by herself and you wanted to mess with someone." Joker was starting to get angry in return at her wrong assumptions. He pushed her back from him putting her on the sidewalk instead of the street.

"That's just the night I learned your name." He hissed.

She paused and he took advantage of her silence.

"I was out there watching you at first..making sure you got on the bus safely to Gotham." He hadn't planned on this..how did tonight go from so amazing to this?

"You're lying! That doesn't make sense! You would never have cared that much!" She yelled with fresh tears in her eyes.

"I visited you in the hospital..in between nurse checkups." He shouldn't be telling her all of this but it was coming out..the truth was coming out.

(Alex)

"Again..that doesn't make any sense! Why would you care?" I thought back to months ago when I naively thought our scars made us similar and it was why I was in the hospital in the first place .It didn't make sense and then..It did make sense! He caused my accident! It had to be! So he felt guilty because he put a scar on someone else?

"You did this to me?! Is that what you're saying?!" My voice was quietly shaking in fury.

"Alex, it's not what you think..really. Even then I was still trying to keep you safe."

"Why?" I snapped and clenched my fists and my side.

"Maroni hired me to and then everything else happened so fast." He replied.

"Why would he do that?"

"I'm not sure. You'd have to ask him." His gloved hand gently caressed my cheek.

"Ask him? You're working for him." I spat out.

"Is this Alex?" A high pitched little girls voice asked. I jumped and turned at the blonde haired little girl standing next to us and turned my accusing eyes on Joker.


	4. Chapter 4

# Carnival Carnage. Chapter 4. #  
(Diana)

She stepped through the open window and gently closed it. Before Diana could even turn around her bedroom light clicked on. Shit. Diana turned to see her "mother" still dressed in her "uniform".

"Where have you been?" She asked sternly. "You promised me, Diana! I would have left you there back in your cell if I had known you wouldn't keep your promises." Her dark hair fell in her face as she leaned into Diana's.

She held up a small dark device.

"Do I need to use this? Do I need to remind you that you are here because of me?"

Flashbacks of getting beaten in her room by the guards flashed through her head.

"No, Miss Nyssa." The woman grabbed her wrist and Diana tried to pull away but she was faster. Diana winced at how hard her grip was and then she smeared the thick coating of expensive tattoo coverage at her wrist to expose the brand scar hidden there.

"You belong to us. You do what I say..and we catch Joker my way. Not you running on your own. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Miss. Nyssa." Diana said through gritted teeth. The woman glanced at her in thought and then pushed a button on the black device. Diana only had time to gasp before the electric volts coarsed through her body. She fell to her bed, unconscious.

(Riley)

It was two in the morning when she was woken by a noise in her bedroom. Her eyes flew open to see a man with a sack on his head and she gasped in fright and then scowled.

"Damn you, Jonathan! Are you trying to scare me?!"

He whipped the bag from his head and the devilish smirk on his pouty lips made her heart race.

"Maybe." He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "Come on. I need your help with something."

"More breaking in to places?" She guessed with a roll of her eyes.

"I just need you to drive there and back. You don't even need to go inside. I'd actually prefer you didn't." He said and his eyes were reflecting in the dark again.

"Ok." She got up and didn't care that she was in her panties and tank top as she walked to her dresser pulled out some sweatpants and tugged them on. Then grabbed her coat and snow boots. When she turned he was still watching her..bag clutched in his fist.

"Are you okay?" She asked and he nodded without a word before following her out to her new car her mother had gotten her recently. Well new to Riley.

Jonathan got in and gave her directions to the back of a neat two story building.

"Are you going to tell me what's so important?" She asked him.

"In these situations..it's better to be ignorant. You'd be hurt just by knowing me." He muttered and stared through the window a little intensely, it bought a shiver over her.

"Who? Who would hurt me?" He pointed to the next right and she pulled in.

"Wait here." He said not answering her question and put on his bag before rushing up the metal stairs to the second floor door.

(Jonathan)

The door was locked as he had expected. He was surprised that Maroni didn't place his guard outside the door as he had earlier.

Jonathan put his hand around the knob and thought of how he had snapped Bastionne's file drawer open with his bare hand. This shouldn't be too different..should it? He tried to pull it off the door but it wouldn't budge. He scowled and gripped it tighter..he let out a breath and then his hand started to lighten..from the inside out, a strange gold color. That hadn't happened before..

There was a deafening SNAP and the whole doorknob came off into his hand. He turned to see Riley had witnessed the whole thing from the car..her mouth was slightly open in shock.

Jonathan tossed the knob over the stairs and onto the cement before entering the dark office. He made his way purposefully to Maroni's and snapped that doorknob off as well. He walked around the desk and grabbed that handle also. The glowing came stronger this time and it also broke off into his hand. This was going to prove beneficial in the future.

Jonathan suddenly had a thought, all of the people brought back or touched by this core or this substance that comes from it had one extra ability or another. Look at Alexandria..Seth and his family, he wondered suddenly what special ability the butler had been hiding from them all this time.

As he pushed that thought back for later he rummaged through the drawer and found nothing but pens and sticky notes, a calculator and other useless things. His fingernail caught on the edge of the inside and suddenly it lifted a bit..of course!

He yanked up the top piece with his nails and found a thick file underneath. This was it..it had to be.

He flipped it open and the first page was Alexandria's birth certificates..both of them. One labeling Alexandria Shaw and the other Kaelin Wayne both with the same birthday..he flipped past those and behind them was..another birth certificate.

The first was made out to a Kieran Wayne..mother was Rachel Dawes and father Bruce Wayne..he flipped to the next birth certificate that was made out to a Dick Grayson. Same birthday as Alexandria..different parents on the Shaw and Grayson but the same parents on the Wayne's.

Rachel had been pregnant with twins. Kaelin and Kieran. She had Maroni change their names and put them in foster homes..but why keep them from their father? Why go through all this trouble at all? Jonathan took the file and left the building.

He walked straight into the barrel of a gun.

It was the bodyguard from earlier!

Jonathan looked past him and saw another man had Riley trapped in the backseat of their car.

"Put the paperwork down..nice and easy..and join the girl in the car." His tone was neutral. Maroni was going to have them offed for snooping..it's what his kind did for a living. He slowly placed the file inside where it wouldn't get damaged and rose to full height again. He wondered what else he could do with his fist? He felt it..the tingle of power flowing down his wrist to his hand..he didn't need to look down to see it was glowing gold.

Jonathan suddenly grabbed the barrel of the gun with glowing hands and yanked it right out of the big mans grip before throwing back a gold fist and punching him in the jaw. There was a CRACK as his jaw dislocated and the man fell backwards off the stair railing. He landed heavily on the cement and didn't move again. The man in the car got out and pointed a gun at Jonathan but he had already raised the one he had stolen and one shot took him down.

He threw the gun aside and snatched the file up before bounding down the stairs. He yanked open the door to free Riley and discovered her hands and feet bound.

"How did you do all that?" She gasped and he would just have to explain later.

"No time." He elbowed out a window and a picked up a long shard of glass to cut her bindings. Once she was free he offered her a hand and she took it, letting him pull her to her feet.

"Can you drive?" He asked. She nodded.

"I can drive home."

"No. Maroni will send people to look for us there..we have to go to Alex's."

"Ok." She said and slid behind the wheel of her car. "I take it you found what you were looking for?" She eyed the file clutched tightly in his hands.

"Yes, I did. Let's go."

(Alex)

"More secrets." I muttered and didn't bother to give this girl the time of day..I was done with the conversations. I turned and tried my best not to slip in my heels..

Suddenly the girl was right in front of me and I stopped in my tracks to stare. How did she move so quickly and silently?

"Diana..," Joker started and then he was talking to me.

"She was some lost girl on the subway I helped her find her way and..," He started but I turned and cut him off.

"You? Helping someone? Give me a break! You kill..you blow things up..you stir the pot. You don't help people." I said and addressed Diana again.

"Move..or I will move you." I said. She tilted her head as though amused and took a fighting stance.

"I'd like to see you try."

My eyebrows rose and I could feel the tingle of power in my arms reacting to my emotions.

"That's enough!" Joker got between us and faced Diana. "Now isn't a good time! Go home to your mother."

Diana screwed her face into a scowl and then laughed.

"I don't have a home! Just like you didn't. Don't you have a mark?"

"A what?" Joker asked. We both watched her roll up her sleeve and my stomach dropped in horror. There were numbers burned into her arm..

Joker was suddenly breathing harder and rolled up his sleeve..there weren't numbers on his skin..I would have noticed. There was, however, a huge rectangular burn scar on his wrist exactly where Diana's were.

"There are others..like us..they talk about you and 6921. The only ones who escaped. It's stirring the others..if you two can get free so can we." She said.

"Who is 6921?" Joker asked. It was in his dream..or memory. "I don't remember any of this."

"I have to go." Diana suddenly said. "Before she finds out I snuck out again." She took her wrist away and took off down the icy street, hopping over the two dead men as though it were nothing.

"What just happened?" I asked.

(Joker)

He was in a slight state of shock with a new motivation..to find out everything. He ushered a quiet Alex into the Chinese restaraunt and they ate.. he let her go up and order. The worker was already giving them panicked glances at his getup.

While she was up there he picked her phone up off of the table and texted Kane their location. He could come pick her up.

She came back with the food and drinks.

"So much is happening..so fast." She started. He nodded in agreement and looked down at his wrist again..had he had a number there too? Had he burned it off during a rage one day? Why didn't he remember?

"Did you really help that girl?" She asked him boldly.

"Yes..but she wasn't what I thought she was. She was crying on the train so I helped her find her stop. She was being followed and I chased him down." He left out the part about the exploding head..he didn't think Riley had explained that to her. Alex would have said something by now.

"Oh," He pointed his plastic fork at her as they ate their food. "Your little redhead friend was following me that day too, don't ask me why I don't know but she's already met Diana. She helped me take her home."

Joker shoveled down the rest of his food and then looked up to Alex looking at him strangely.

"What?" He grunted and pushed the remains aside.

"You've just..changed a bit. Don't you think?"

"Those bodies out there? You don't think you've changed a little bit?" He had changed. From his mannerisms to his priorities. But she had too.

The bell rang as the door opened and she turned accusing eyes on him again.

"You messaged him?"

"You have to go home." He sighed..tired of doing this with her and Diana at the moment. Kane walked up and wordlessly took her packed leftovers. The men nodded at each other in greeting. They had come a long way since Joker had tried to kill him by pushing him off a skyscraper.

They all walked out to the car on the curb and Kane went to get behind the wheel.

Joker hugged Alex hard.

"What are you going to do?" She asked.

"First of all, I'm going to hide those bodies. You're Welcome. Then..I have to start finding some things out." He kissed the top of her head. "Don't wait up."

(Alex)

"Rough night?" Kane joked from the front and I turned my gaze from the window to him.

"You could say that." I grunted. "I'm tired. What time is it?"

"Four in the morning. Shall we stop for a coffee?" His accent soothed my nerves and despite me leading him on that night when I showed him my camera and him taking a peek at us tonight I didn't feel like it was his fault.

"Are you upset with me?" He asked suddenly and my eyes met his briefly before he looked at the road. "Because I watched?"

I shook my head. I didn't want to admit how much it had excited me to be watched while Joker was touching me. Hell, I'd had the same thought back when he had come into the cafe with his new crew.

"I was making sure he wasn't raping you. I just opened the door to look and there you were. When you opened your eyes and didn't ask for my help..I knew I had interrupted." He glanced at me again. "My apologies."

"But you waited.."

"Yes, I waited." And that was how we left the conversation.

A sudden movement caught the corner of my eye and then someone was standing in front our car!

"Kane!" I screamed and he hit the breaks! The person was gone though..

"Did you see..?" I asked.

"Yes."

Good. So I wasn't completely crazy.

We both got out and looked up and down the empty street. I held onto the car so I wouldn't slip in my heels again. The sudden dark shape flew by me back to the front of the car and I gasped in shock. I didn't think just raised my palm at it and blasted! The aqua wave hit it but the person did a majestic sort of flip and landed in front us, effectively dodging my blast.

"That's different." The voice said and it was a boy or a man I wasn't sure. The long midnight black hair was loose to his shoulders and his mask covered his eyes. His suit was also sleek and dark. Who the hell?

"I had to make sure I had the right person," He started and began walking up to me fearlessly. I lifted my palm again in his direction and let it glow dangerously in warning. He looked at my hand in astonishment.

"My name is Nightwing. Or Dick Grayson..but you can call me Kieran." He said to me. "I finally found you."

I looked at Kane who looked just as confused as I did and he was pointing a gun at the man.

"There's no need for that." He said to Kane. "I came a long way to find you. Once I found out I was adopted..well, I was ecstatic and then I get this anonymously in the mail one day." He handed me a folded paper and I unwrinkled it to see a handwritten note.

'If you want to see your real family come to Gotham.'

"And it came with this coin." A coin with two heads..Harvey. "It took me a while to believe it was real and wasn't one my foster brothers messing with me." "Are you Kaelin?" He asked hopefully. Now I knew he really had it all wrong.  
"My name is Alexandria." Kieran looked confused.  
"Come on. You've obviously got the wrong person." Kane butted in. "She's tired and has had a long day."  
"Of course." The man backed up. "Sorry to have bothered you." We got back in the car.  
"Do you still want to get that coffee?" He asked with a smile and I just..laughed. Laughed at the incredulousness of it all. "Why the hell not? Drive thru breakfast and coffee so I can go to bed."

I wasn't going to get to bed. As soon as I walked through my bedroom door finishing my coffee, I realized I wasn't alone. Riley and Jonathan were here. "Hi." I said suspiciously. "Why are you guys here?" "Jonathan over here killed two people tonight for some files!" Riley blurted and I suddenly remembered the two men I had killed tonight. I could no longer judge.  
"Files?" I asked and offered Riley the rest of my coffee and breakfast which she took and scarfed down..I had still been kinda full from Chinese. Jonathan handed me a few sheets of paper wordlessly and I was looking down at my birth certificate. Alexandria Shaw..the next one said Kaelin Wayne..um..what? The next one said Dick Grayson and already my heart was pounding so hard..I flipped to the next one urgently. Kieran Wayne. Fucking Nightwing..was my..brother? We had the same birthday..my twin? Rachel had a lot more secrets than anyone could have guessed..  
"My name is Kaelin?" I asked in disbelief.


End file.
